# Chapter 8

"And this is the reason that you like me?" - said Alice with suspicion. Michael was lost for a moment. He needed an excuse and he needed it quickly. "I... Well. This is what initially caught my interest." - said Michael, immediately regretting it. Alice shrugged. She was slightly disappointed. But on the other hand there was not very much to do about it. "So how did she traumatized him?" - she asked.

Michael didn't tell her the whole story. He told her that there was a girl one day that looked similar to her. And that, that girl traumatized his dad. But what exactly happened was a mystery to her. She didn't even know that Molly died. Michael didn't know how to answer. "She died." - he said. Alice frowned. She had a sudden realization of that it could be a bad idea to go to the father at all.

"So she died and she looked like me, how long ago?"

"About five years."

"And you don't have images of her?"

Michael stopped walking. "We have one on the wall." - he said. She started walking back - "I'm not going to traumatize your dad even more.". "But..." - started Michael. Alice looked at him with her serious look - "How old was she? My age more or less?". He nodded a confirmation. She thought about it and said - "I know what we are going to do. You are to feed him stories about us for now. And later, when I grow a bit and my features will change, we gonna come to him. Not now. Poor man. Alright?".

Michael though about it - "But how long can we keep you out of his sight?" - then he realized that it could actually work. His dad was not doing much of anything at all. And he might have continued doing nothing. And also with his levels of depression, he will not demand seeing Alice. So he agreed with her.

When he came home that day, his dad was standing in the corridor and watching the face of his long lost wife. Not Molly's mother. He didn't have a picture of her. He watched Michael's mother. This made Michael a little worried. If Alice grows up, she will look like his mother. He thought of maybe changing the look of Alice somehow. But he didn't want it either. 

Dad noticed him. "Oh hi, Michael. How is your girlfriend?" - he said with a half ironic smile. Michael smiled and then frowned - "What do you mean *how*?" - he said. Dad waved his hand in a *forget it* kind of way and went back into his room. Michael saw how dad opens a can of vodka plus. A red can this time. With an extra effect. And how he stats sipping it while looking at the empty sealing. Michael thought that it was a bad idea indeed to show Alice his dad. Not before he can look presentable. This parody of a father is nowhere near presentable. 

Meanwhile though, they had another occasion that was also important. But rather scary in it's own right. They had to visit Alice's mother. She did not live with the rest of the family. She was a nasty woman living by her self in the very top areas of the mega-structures. She lived so high up that going outside required an oxygen tank. The air pressure of outside at those altitudes was low. It was the highest permit-able height since a mere few dozen meters above it, the pressure was so low that a human would simply die. It was above the height of the Everest but below the edge of space, since some air still existed there.

To get to her was a challenge in it's own right. Alice's mother despised the Molly family. She was a proud carrier of a name Melisa Jessica Denbrook. She had her reasons not to like Mr. Molly and her own kids a mere year and a half after the birth of Newt. Newt Denbrook, she insisted always. "Alice Denbrook" was how she would call Alice. The name "Molly" made her turn upside down and around. 

When Alice called her with a the news of getting a boyfriend she was gritted with a cold - "So what?" - and a sound-effect on an ending call. It was not easy to get to her mother. But, she thought, it was at least more possible than to try and traumatise Michael's father again.

Johnathan Molly was not willing to see Melisa Jessica Denbrook either. And climbing all this height on their own was too dangerous. They needed a car with a pressurised cabin. Which Johnathan had. And they needed a driver's license. Which Johnathan had also. But since he didn't want to see Melisa, there was a need for a plan. 

Alice thought about a possible plan. But it required a great deal of argumentation. It's Johnathan Molly that had to be convinced right now. It was not an easy task.

"Dad..." - she started - "... I want ask you something about the ZX35B?"

Johnathan looked at her with a kind of *don't bother me* look and said - "What about that rock? It's not a threat. It's gonna pass by us.". Alice continued - "Well, er... yeah. But. It's going to pass between the moon and the earth.". Johnathan was not very interested in it - "So what..." - he said - "...it's not going to hit us.".

ZX35B was a massive asteroid that if collided with earth could cause a mass extinction. For almost a hundred years it moved on a steady path right towards earth, but lately with engines installed on it's surface, the course of the asteroid was changed and everybody forgot about it since it was no longer a threat. 

"Dad, I know that it's not going to hit us." - continued Alice - "But there is a great chance at watching it actually pass by, which might be a very cool moment, don't you think?". Johnathan looked at her with a kind of half interest - "Do you want to get up there?". Alice nodded and smiled. Johnathan didn't see anything bad about this idea until she said - "And also we might jump and see mom". Johnathan expressed disgust, then frowned, then thought about it. "Only if you don't drag me inside to her." - he said. Alice smiled again. Johnathan asked - "When is this rock passing by?". It was a few months before the rock would pass by. So they all had time to prepare. They needed to prepare. It is Melisa Jessica Denbrook we are talking about. 
